Tag: depression

When hearing about social anxiety you probably think first about the mind and not the stomach. However, what is going on in our stomach is more important for our mental health than we think.

In a recent study researchers were investigating the connection between fermented foods, which contain probiotics and social anxiety. The main findings were that people who consumed fermented foods had indeed reduced social anxiety. Apparently microorganisms in your gut can influence your mind.

It is well known that the enteric nervous system is in our gut and it is often referred to as our second brain. So can it be that a big part of our emotions are influenced by the nerves in our gut?

It all begins and ends in your mind. What you give power to will end up having power over you. If you allow it.

How many minutes a day are you spending just worrying? Worrying about the future or even past? How many minutes or even hours have gone by without you even noticing the present moment? It is probably more than you think. And because you have clicked on this post I hope that you are willing to change that.

Once I came across a great quote which said: If it does not matter anymore in 5 years don’t spend more than 5 minutes worrying about it!

This made me think about how much we actually need to worry. The answer is simple, we don’t need to worry at all. We don’t function better if we worry and nothing is changing by us worrying about it. There is no need to worry. Your worry is not going to change anything!

The same goes for frustration, anxiety, anger and shame. And all those other emotions that don’t change a thing but make us feel very bad.

Ask yourself. Is it really necessary to get angry or frustrated if your partner forgets to take the garbage out or empty the dishwasher? Is your frustration changing anything or doing the work? No! The only thing that changes is your mood and probably the rest of your day. For the worse.

Is it really necessary to be afraid of your boss and to stress out about work? No! It is very unlikely your boss is going to kill you. The only reason all the animals on this planet, including us humans are meant to be stressed is in a life or death situation or a fight or flight situation. So there is no need for you to have sweaty hands, a racing heart or even constipation unless you are chased by a bear. How many times do you feel stressed and how many times are you chased by a bear?

Start to think about the things that really deserve your energy. What are the things that are really important in your life? The unwashed dishes or your health? The job you hate or your friends and family? You only have a limited amount of fu**s to give in your day. Chose wisely. The things in which you are investing your energy will grow. So if you spend most of your day worrying about your job you will end up even more worrying about your job tomorrow. It’s like planting seeds. Stop planting seeds for things that make you unhappy and start growing the things that make you happy. It’s your life. You can decide what is important in it. So if you don’t want to go and meet with people you don’t like. That’s okay. No need to worry about it. You have the right to spend every minute in your life exactly the way you want to. Free yourself from worry and start living.

So you wake up in the morning feeling good and looking forward to enjoying the rest of the day. Out of a sudden you are running into another person and you start losing energy and start feeling bad. Most likely this has happened to you more than once. So let’s see how we can fix this.

What has happened is a very natural reaction and that is simple energy exchange. Everybody on this planet is surrounded by an energy field that protects us. If your energy shield is in tact, there is no chance an other person’s bad vibes or energies would affect you. However, if other people affect your mood simply by their presence, that’s a sign that you have holes in your energy shield. Which means that you are way more unstable than you think.

So let’s fix it:

Sit quiet for a couple of minutes and think about the things that maybe bother or worry you. Then slowly start to release them. Be mindful.

Release all kinds of stress and tensions.

Simply visualize an energy shield around you. Start to feel the energy inside of you.

Focus your mind and use all your senses to fully experience the energy shield around you.

Make the intention to only let good things pass through your shield in both ways, for example love.

Remember how this energy shield feels like and bring it back in case you need it again.

This may remind you of Star Wars but I dare you to give it a try. It may be more helpful than you think.

Lesson 15

Don’t take life so seriously.

Life is about having fun and don’t let your ego get in the way of it. Nothing needs to be perfect all the time. Let yourself go and enjoy life. Don’t be obsessed with perfection. Enjoy what you have got.

Lesson 14

Say no!

It is impossible to please everybody and sometimes we agree on things that we don’t like just to please others or make them happy. However that behavior is harming us. If you don’t like something or don’t agree with something, say no! It is okay to be selfish because you are the most important person in your life. The person you should first care for is yourself, only then you have all the strength to care for other people. If you exhaust yourself you are not helping anybody.